TRAVEL | WEEKLY WRAP UP
Lacking Christmas Spirit In Antalya, Turkey
My Weeks In Photos — Week 41 — December 22–December 28, 2022
As I stated in my last update, we finally bought paint for our mural last Wednesday, December 21. It was on the previous Monday that we learned that they were having the grand opening on Saturday, and they wanted this wall painted by then.
“Do you think you can have it painted by Saturday?” They asked.
“Sure, if we get the paint straight away and get started.” We told them.
Tuesday came and went with no sign of paint so I finally messaged one of the owners at the end of the day to see if it had happened.
“No, tomorrow we will go get it and you will come with us.” She replied.
Fair enough.
We went with them to the paint shop mid-day and figured that we would be able to start painting that afternoon/evening, but there were numerous workers in the area and we couldn’t get access to the wall. So we were forced to wait until Thursday. We did however get a basic sketch put on the wall at the end of that day.
The hotel/hostel is called Deer Hotel, so they were looking for a deer theme. I will admit, this project has been very frustrating as they could be better communicators plus they have been turning down all of our ideas and suggestions about what to paint. Which isn’t normal for us.
But after a couple of days of back and forth with them, we were able to at least solidify this idea.
The next day we got one coat of antlers/branches and the deer head on the wall.
The following day we managed to get a second coat of paint on everything, plus we painted in all of the leaves.
The opening reception wasn’t until the afternoon on Saturday, so we got up early in the morning that day to finish all the details. We finally wrapped it up at around 1:00 pm.
We also went to see Avatar in 3D one evening this past week, which I was very excited about. What a fantastic cinematic experience!
We haven’t been to a movie in a theatre in quite some time.
Of course, Sunday was Christmas Day and we were happy to have the day to relax. We had plans to go swimming, which we finally did at about 2:00 in the afternoon.
After our swim, we were sort of wandering around aimlessly, not really knowing what to do. It sure didn’t feel like Christmas, but I suddenly had an idea of something we could do to bring in a little bit of Christmas cheer.
“Let’s go to Starbucks, I want a gingerbread latte!” I suddenly exclaimed.
Chris laughed. We haven’t been to a Starbucks since we were in Istanbul in 2020, and it was Christmas time then as well. Before that, I couldn’t tell you the last time we were in a Starbucks, likely before we left Canada in 2017. Starbucks is not really our sort of place, but I knew that a gingerbread latte would at least bring me a feeling of Christmas.
We walked to the nearest one to us (there are three in Antalya) and it was packed with people spilling out the door. We couldn’t even see where the lineup began or ended. So we decided that we would walk to another one in the city.
I checked Google maps to find another location and we headed off. The walk was longer than we anticipated, and I’m sure had we just stood in line at the original place, we would have gotten our coffee sooner. But we were happy when we walked into the next one and saw that there were just a couple of people before us in line.
As small-town people we both detest line ups!
I could see in the dessert case that there were also little Christmas cupcakes that were decorated with red and green. Yes, this was certain to put me into the Christmas spirit!
I excitedly announced my order to the barista.
“One gingerbread latte please!” I was almost jumping up and down with excitement.
“We don’t have gingerbread latte.” He stated with no emotion whatsoever.
I stared at him wide-eyed, my mouth hanging agape in disbelief.
Refusing to take no for an answer, I glanced up at the flashing red signs that proudly displayed the Christmas selections.
“A chestnut latte?” I muttered. Trying to hide my immense disappointment.
“No chestnut latte.” He stated. He gave me a blank stare.
“No Christmas drinks?” I asked flabbergasted. “But it’s Christmas today!” I told him. He shrugged his shoulders.
The girl behind us in line was laughing. I was dumbfounded.
It took me a moment to try and decide what to order. I had been so set on my gingerbread latte that I couldn’t even recall what the other drinks I could order were. My eyes desperately searched the boards above the cashier to try and quickly pick something else.
“White chocolate mocha?” I squeaked.
“Yes, we have that.” He finally said.
Needless to say, I forgot the cupcake.
My Christmas spirit was officially squashed.
That night we quietly baked ourselves some chicken breasts and roasted some vegetables. We then face-timed family back in Canada and chatted with them for a few minutes.
It was the most un-Chritmassy Christmas that we have certainly experienced in these past 6 Christmases on the road.
And I won’t lie, I was a little depressed by it all.
On Monday and Tuesday we mostly just hung around the hotel waiting to get some sort of direction about the next painting project. Despite the fact that they had a ‘grand opening’ on Saturday, the hotel still isn’t formally open for business. One of the owners told us that they just wanted to have a party for the staff and their friends before the other owner returned to Russia for a couple of weeks. Yes, this hotel is owned by Russians and there are MANY Russians that live in Antalya. In fact, we have met more Russians here than Turkish people so far.
So there are still people working in the rooms and doing all sorts of construction projects on the property which has the owner that is still here running around frantically trying to coordinate everything.
We are meant to paint something in the kitchen area and the 4 hallways outside of the elevators on each floor, but the ideas we have presented have mostly been shot down. She keeps telling us that she will find some photos online so that we can work on designs for the other areas, but that hasn’t happened yet.
So we sit and wait, which, I will admit, is very frustrating. But we have a nice hotel room and all the amenities, so we can’t really complain too much.
On Wednesday we finally decided that we were tired of waiting around so we went for a walk and discovered another part of Antalya that we hadn’t seen before.
We found yet more hidden secrets in the cliffs that run to the northwest of the city.
We had no idea that small walkways and roads wound their way along the coast in this section of the city as well. There were many coffee shops and restaurants that balanced themselves atop the cliffs, and we even stopped at one to enjoy the view and some Turkish coffee.
Surprisingly, despite the fabulous location, they weren’t any more pricey than any other coffee shop in the city.
We then continued on to Konyaalti, a section of Antalya with a long beach that we had been on before. However, this time we stayed up high and took in the immense park that looks down on the beach below.
As usual, along the way, we encountered many cats.
At the end of it all, we found a nice bench where we were able to witness the setting of the sun and another Antalya day coming to a close.
Despite this week feeling very un-Christmassy, and despite the fact that we are a bit anxious and discouraged by our mural painting gig, we continue to try and enjoy ourselves to the fullest.
We do have some fun plans for New Year's Eve with our Ukrainian friend Yarik, so hopefully, those go better than Christmas Day did for us.
I’m certain we will at least be able to witness some fireworks!
I hope you all have had a nice holiday season and I wish you all the best for the New Year and beyond!
xo Jill
Articles written this past week:
2022 Brought Us To 6 Different Countries
Creating a Treasure Hunt From Scratch
Making Over $100 In One Day On One Medium Article
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